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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

which led, after a good deal of talk, to a much pleasure, in the name of the Assimilar contribution from the Free Church. sembly, in thanking the members of the He could tell the Assembly that England deputation for the interesting addresses was a splendid field for missions, and the which they had delivered that evening. Roman Catholics appeared to thoroughly In these times of apostasy and defectionunderstand this, and were making immense with Popery on the march, and Puseyism progress both within and without the undermining the Church of England-it Established Church of that land. Infidelity was something to know that there is no was also spreading to a fearful extent, and disguised Popery in Presbyterian ranks, he regretted to say that Presbyterians who nor deeds of Popery on the standards of left this country and entered England had this Church. His brethren of the English no Presbyterian Churches to enter in many Presbyterian Church had a noble missi n places, and were therefore picked up by the before them, and this Assembly wished Independents and other Churches. He them God speed. (Applause.) concluded by expressing the deep interest which his brethren in England took in the prosperity of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Mr. H. M. Matheson, elder, next addressed the Assembly. The deputation had (he said) taken the deepest in erest in the several debates which they had heard at the meeting of the Assembly, and especially in what they had heard in connection with its missionary labours in India. The English Synod had also a missionary in that distant part of the world. In China they had missionaries whose labours had been greatly blessed; but they found the same difficulty as this Assembly in procuring labourers for a field that was ripe for their exertions. With respect to the condition of the Presbyterian Church in England, the Synod was doing all it cou'd to increase Church Extension, and to spread a knowledge of Jesus Christ throughout the land. (Applause.) Mr. Gullen also addressed the Assembly, and, in doing so observed that the Moderator of the Irish Presbyterian Church was the first to break ground for Presbyterianism in Wales, and he had to thank him for the able and eloquent manner in which he had conducted the opening services of his own Church at Swansea. The English Presbyterian Church was largely doing the work of this Assembly and of the Free Church; for a great many persons came to England, especially belong. ing to the army, from both Scotland and Ireland. With n his own knowledge, about twenty persons of this class belonging to the Presbyterian Church lately arrive in his locality, where they had no Church accommodation, and they were thus thrown among other communions with whom they had no sympathy. They had found that Presbyterian Church was planted in England they had found these men rallying round it, and that encouraged him to call upon the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland for its sympathy and support. (Hear, hear.)

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WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. The receipts for the year are as follows-Home, £101,549 78. 3d.; Foreig £32 510 12s. 11d.; from Jubilee Fund, £11,825; making a total of receipts of £145,885 0s. 2d. The home receipts exhibit an increase of £3,934 over those of the previous year. The expenditure has been £143,707 8s. 9d., leaving a balance of £2,177 11s. 5d. The contributions received for the Jubilee Fund up to the present time have been £137,000. Amorg the donations were £5,000 by Miss Neald; T. E. E., £2,070; and the King of Holland, £116 133. 4d, for the St. Martin's and the St. Esutatius Missions, West Indies. Another donation was that of £1,000 for Italy, left at the door of the Society's house a few days since in an envelope by a gentleman who did not give his name. The missions now under the direction of the Committee in Europe, India, China, Africa, the West Indies, Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, &c., number 661, with 4 800 chapels or preaching places, 981 ministers and assistant missionaries, 1,383 catechists, interpreters, and teachers, 17,854 u paid agents, or Sabbath-school teachers, 145,081 church-members, 13 227 on trial for membership, 152,284 day and Sabbath-school scholars, and eight print ng establishments. Since the last annual meeting twenty-six missionaries and fourteen wives of missionaries had been sent out by the S ciety to France, Germany, India, Africa, West Indies, Australia, and Canada, and seven missionaries had been removed by death, including the Rev. Mr. Draper, who perished in the London st sea. There have been also five wives of On missionaries deceased. The reading of the the motion of Mr. Hansen (Kingstown), Report occupied upwards of one hour, seconded by Mr. Dodd (Newry), a cordial after which the meeting was addressed by vote of thanks was given to the deputation. a great number of leading Wesle, an After which, the Moderator said he had ministers.

wherever a

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.-From Free grants of tracts had been given to the Report it appeared that the total ordinary income amounted to £146,208 4. 9d.; and the expenditure to £144,558 17s. 4d., leaving a surplus of £1,649 4. 5d. The local funds raised in the missions and expended there upon the operations of the Society, but independently of the general fund, were not included in the foregoing figures, and amounted to about £20,000. The Society has at present 148 missionary stations, 278 clergymen, 21 European laymen, 9 European female teachers (exclusive of missionaries' wives), and 2.122 native and country-born catechists and teachers of all classes, none sent from home. The number of communicants in 1860 were 19,828; in 1861, 21,064; in 1862, 21,261; in 1863, 18,110; in 1864, 18,124; and in 1865, 14,155. The returns of the New Zealand Mission had not been received, account of the disturbed state of that country.

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BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.The Report stated that the receips for the year ending March 31st, 1866, exhibit an increase over those of the preceding year in almost every item, with the exception of legacies, in which there is a diminution of £23,470 13s. 7d. The sum applicable to the general purposes of the Society has amounted to £80 525 12s. 10d.; and the amount received for Bibles and Testaments has been £81,303 2s. 5d., being £2,913 10s. 9d. more than in the preceding year. The total receipts from the ordinary sources of income have amounted to £161,828 15. 3d. To this must be added the sum of £605 14s. 8d. received for the China Fund; £16 2s. 5d. for the Special Fund for India; and £8,924 178. 10d. further contributions in aid of the Building Fund; making a grand total of £171,375 10s. 2d. The ordinary payments have amounted to £176,157 0s. 11d., and the payments on account of the special fund to £6,254 28. 6d., making the total expenditure of the year £182,402 38. 5., being £12,658 9s. 7d. more than in the preceding year. The Society is under engagements to the extent of £109,121 58. 7d. The issues of the Society for the year are as follows:-From the depôt at home, 1,471,044 copies; depô 8 abroad, 825,086 copies; total, 2,296,130 copies. The total issues of the Society now amount to 50,215,709 copies.

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RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.-Dr. Davis, the secretary, read the report, from which it appeared that during the past year the Society had published 60 new tracts, 17 books for adults, and 24 books for children, independent of the regular issue of its five illustrated periodicals, including the Leisure Hour and the Sunday at Home.

827 applicants, value £1,635, and 630
applicants had received grants of tracts at
Grants
half-price to the value of £853.
had also been made to the Paris Tract
Society and Sunday School Union, to the
Toulouse Book Society, and to the Genevan
and Belgian Evangelical Societies, amount-
ing to £982, exclusive of £900 paid
towards the debt of the Paris Tract
Jociety. Grants had also been made to
various tract societies in Germany,
Holland, Russia, Sweden, Italy, and other
countries, to the value of £2,460; also to
India, Ceylon, China, the West Indies,
North
Australia, Africa, and British
America, to the value of £2,830. The
total value of the grants in money, paper,
and publications, amounts to £14,575
7s. 2d. The total receipts for the year
amount to £107,255 8s. 5d., and the total
payments to £105,884 10s. 5d., leaving a
balance of £1,370 18s. Of these receipts
only £9,379 were benevolent contributions,
and £957 legacies. The total circulation
of the Society's publications for the year
had been 46,000,000.

LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. - The Report states that the number of missionaries is 185, of whom 27 are connected with the mission in Polynesia, 23 in the West Indies, 41 in South Africa, 20 in China, 62 in India, and 12 in Madagascar. The number of students is 37, 10 of whom are completing the last year of their training at the Society's institute, Highgate.

In the course of a few months 9 additional missionaries will proceed to India, 2 to China, and 1 to South Africa. The income for ordinary purposes for the year 1865-6 is £58,506 19s. 7d.; for special objects, £83,141 7s. 7d. ; expen11d. Towards diture, £106,788 15s. meeting the deficiency in the income as compared with expenditure, £25,170 12s. 9d. The directors are now carrying out important extensions in India, China, and Madagascar. From the additions already made and contemplated to the number of missionaries, the expenditure of the coming year will be in excess of the past, and the directors entreat the pastors of churches and the friends of the Society to pay increased attention to the efficiency of the organization, an addition of £10,000 per annum to the present income of the Society being necessary to sustain its present operations. The triumphs of Christianity were described as having been more marked in the islands of Polynesia than in any other part of the world. ertions

In order to show the exof the missionaries on the island of Upolu-one of the Polynesian group-it was shown that the Colton Supply Association would, by-and-bye, get plenty of the raw material, the

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The Common Salvation, and other Dis- are marked by more than average excellence.

courses.

By the late Rev. ADAM FORMAN, Leven, Fife. London: J. Nisbet & Co,

These sermons, though posthumous and not intended for publication by the writer,

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much power in stating and enforcing it, while they are pervaded by a fine Christian spirit. Throughout the book there are many eloquent passages and some views of the truth very striking for their loftiness and beauty. The memoir which precedes the discourses is from the pen of the Rev. C. L. C. fulloch, Livingston, and, though it is very brief, gives us a very high appreciation of the character of Mr. Forman, both as a man and as a minister.

The Royal Rights of the Lord Jesus. By WM. LEASK, D.D. London: S. W. Partridge.

No one, however widely his views on certain points may differ from those of Dr. Leask, can read this book honestly without deriving benefit from it. It is one of the ablest expositions of the premillennial theory as applied to the present times that we have seen. The author has thought out his subject with great care, and expresses himself with clearness and often with beauty and force; and not the least excellence of his work is the fine spiritual tone which pervades it from beginning to

end.

A Chronological Synopsis of the Four Gospels. By H. GRENVILLE. London:

John Russell Smith.

The object of this work is "to show that on a minute critical analysis, the writings of the four Evangelists contain no contradictions." It is another added to the many harmonies of the Gospels which already exist. The plan adopted is good and well carried out, and the reader will derive great assistance from the "notes" at the end. We highly recommend the book to Bible Students.

The Life and the Light. A Sermon preached on behalf of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. By the Rev. HENRY ALLON. London: Jackson, Wal ord, & Hodder.

We cannot speak too highly of this sermon. It is full of fine Christian thought

powerfully expressed. The picture of Christ's life, with which it presents us, is very beautifully wrought out, and contrasts favourably with many similar attempts that have of late been pressed on the notice of the reading publ c. We trust it will have a large circulation.

Louis Napoleon the Destined Monarch of the World, foreshown in Prophecy, &c. By the Rev. M. BAXTER. London: William Macintosh.

The title of this book reveals sufficiently its character, and the aim of its author. Nothing more need be said.

SERIALS.

CHRISTIAN WORK and EVANGELICAL CHRISTENDOM are very similar in character, and take a front rank among religious magazines in point of interest and utility. The July number of each is excellent, and Home and Foreign Work in the latter. particularly good is the Monthly Survey of The SUNDAY MAGAZINE (Dr. Guthrie) for July has many able and interesting papers, numbering amongst its contributors Dr. Raleigh, Dr. Hanna, Dr. Blaikie, Dr. Rigg, Mr. Tristram, Mr. Charteris, Mr. Haweis, and the Editor. OUR OWN FIRESIDE

(Rev. C. Bullock) sustains its character as an excellent magazine for the Christian family. THE GARDENER'S MAGAZINE (Shirley Hibberd's) is full of varied and useful writing on its own special subjects. THE IMPERIAL BIBLE DICTIONARY (Dr. Fairbairn) has reached its 23rd Part, and will be found worthy of the reputation of its distinguished Editor, and of its publishers. THE CLASS AND THE DESK (Sangster & Co.), Part II., is a u-eful manual for Sunday-school teachers. HADES, OR THE INVISIBLE WORLD (Simpkin, Marshall, & Co.) is the second of a series of tracts designed for thoughtful Chri-tian; though ably written, it is open to di-putation. OLD JONATHAN we recommend as heartily as ever.

THE ENGLISH

PRESBYTERIAN MESSENGER.

SEPTEMBER, 1866.

THE DECALOGUE.

PART II.

BY THE REV. H. M. DOUGLAS, KIRKCALDY.

ALL men are under obligation to keep the moral law. He who does anything to weaken in men the sense of this obligation, inflicts upon them a cruel injury; for the ideas of law, duty, guilt, penalty, justice, and atonement, are closely related, and even involve each other. They rise into prominence, or they sink into obscurity together. Obscurity or confusion in our idea of any one of them, spreads like wildfire to our ideas of all the rest; and any feebleness in our conviction of the reality of any one of them, enfeebles our conviction of the reality of all the rest. To confuse a man's conception of divine law and weaken his sense of its obligation, is to confuse his conception of the value and necessity of Christ's atonement, and impair his sense of his own personal need of it. The Church of Christ is under an obligation to respect moral law additional to that which rests upon other men. Her members have received blessings from the Lawgiver which other men have not shared, and they have received a lesson which has not been taught to other men, of the inviolable sacredness of divine law, of the baseness as well as misery of transgression, and of the greatness and blessedness of obedience. They have learned this from the life, but especially from the death of the incarnate Son of God. The cross of Christ teaches more clearly and emphatically than any words can declare, that God will neither break his law himself, nor suffer it to be broken with impunity by others; for it shows that rather than do this, he will suffer the punishmeni himself.

The question, however, which is under discussion, is not that of the obligation of moral law upon men generally, or in particular upon the Church, but of the continued obligation of that specific code of law which was promulgated from Mount Sinai in the hearing of the Israelites—the Decalogue.

There are two ways in which the continued authority of the Decalogue is generally endeavoured to be established. The one is from the character of the contents of the Decalogue, the other from the statements made in Scripture regarding it. Of these in succession.

I.-1. It can be shown that each separate precept of the Decalogue in detail is purely moral, and, because moral, is permanently binding. Each separate commandment is a piece of permanent terrestrial morality. Hence the whole code is binding, because its separate constituent parts are binding. 2. Our Lord says: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. v. 17, 18). An application of the principles here laid down brings out the permanent obligation, at least while

No. 225.-New Series.

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